Stephen Colbert Quotes

Born 1964

American comedian and television host.

26 quotesAbout Stephen Colbert on Wikipedia

“Don't be afraid to be a fool. Remember, you cannot be both young and wise.”

— Stephen Colbert

“Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it.”

— Stephen Colbert

“Cynics always say no. But saying yes begins things. Saying yes is how things grow. Saying yes leads to knowledge.”

— Stephen Colbert

“We claim no respectability. There's no status I would not surrender for a joke.”

— Stephen Colbert

“I don't perceive my role as a newsman at all. I'm a comedian from stem to stern.”

— Stephen Colbert

“In the media age, everybody was famous for 15 minutes. In the Wikipedia age, everybody can be an expert in five minutes.”

— Stephen Colbert

“Obviously, it's a challenge to make light of the darkness but, um, it's better than crying about it.”

— Stephen Colbert

“Don't cry over spilled milk. By this time tomorrow, it'll be free yogurt.”

— Stephen Colbert

“You can’t laugh and be afraid at the same time—of anything. If you're laughing, I defy you to be afraid.”

— Stephen Colbert

“Winning the Nobel Prize does not automatically qualify you to be commander in chief.”

— Stephen Colbert

“I didn't realize quite how liberal I was until I was asked to make passionate comedic choices as opposed to necessarily successful comedic choices.”

— Stephen Colbert

“The greatest thing about this man is he's steady. You know where he stands. He believes the same thing Wednesday that he believed on Monday — no matter what happened Tuesday.”

— Stephen Colbert

“I believe democracy is our greatest export. At least until China figures out a way to stamp it out of plastic for three cents a unit.”

— Stephen Colbert

“You know what I hate about people who criticize you? They criticize what you say, but they never give you credit for how loud you say it. Or how long you say it.”

— Stephen Colbert

“Language has always been important in politics, but language is incredibly important to the present political struggle. Because if you can establish an atmosphere in which…”

— Stephen Colbert

“It used to be, everyone was entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts. But that's not the case anymore.”

— Stephen Colbert

“Don’t let me get away with anything. Don’t try to play my game. Be real. Be passionate. Hold your ideas. Give me resistance. Give me traction I can work against.”

— Stephen Colbert

“I would say laughter is the best medicine. But it’s more than that. It’s an entire regime of antibiotics and steroids.”

— Stephen Colbert

“I went down there and did exactly what I wanted. I didn't expect it to be some sort of cultural-political line in the sand.”

— Stephen Colbert

“At Pottery Barn, if you knock over a lamp, you have to glue it back together, even if when you're done it looks terrible and it doesn't work.”

— Stephen Colbert

“We decided that my character had a pre-show tradition, like a ritual, which was to sing the lyrics to "I Want You To Want Me" by Cheap Trick into the mirror.”

— Stephen Colbert

“He wants to do the right thing but has none of the tools to achieve it.”

— Stephen Colbert

“If you don't give power to the words that people throw at you to hurt you, they don't hurt you anymore — and you actually have power over those people.”

— Stephen Colbert